Billion-dollar shipwreck ours

The shipwreck that was discovered in the mining fields of Oranjemund in 2008 was recently moved into a permanent temperature-controlled storage unit on land leased by the Namibian Government to Namdeb.
The 500-year-old shipwreck has artefacts dating back to the 15th century. It has induced a sense of cultural euphoria amongst archaeologists and curators working on the project. They say the discovery is one of the most significant cultural finds in recent history because it’s the oldest shipwreck found to date.
Elliot Mowa who is the curator dealing with the historical finds on behalf of the National Museum of Namibia, said although the load is worth billions of Namibian dollars, government has set is eyes on maintaining and protecting the cultural and historical value of the artefacts as opposed to selling it for financial gain.
The Discovery
The shipwreck that was initially found by geologists working for De Beers Company was later analysed by archaeologist Dr Dieter Noli, who worked for Namdeb Properties as a consultant and resident archaeologist. The wreck was subsequently identified as The Bom Jesus that went missing while en route to India about 500 years ago, according to Foxnews.com.
Portugal initially wanted claim of the wreck after it was established that the shipwreck was of Portuguese origin but Mowa told the Namibian Sun that according to United Nations maritime laws, such a wreck must be claimed within a certain time span, which had lapsed by the time the proposal to move the shipwreck to Portugal was made.
One of the other issues that added to the consideration to move the artefacts to Portugal, was because the Namibian government does not have any facility that can support the storage and maintenance of the various gold coins, weapons, silver and copper, amongst others, found on the ship.
Various archaeologists from South Africa, Portugal, Zimbabwe and Namibia worked together to unearth the shipwreck and decided that it would be best if the Namibian government keeps the items found.
The maintenance of the wall that allowed the team to unearth the wreckage was an expensive process. There was round the clock assistance needed to keep the wall up so that the items could be removed from the site.
Historical and Cultural Significance
Mowa said the discovery of the ship showed that there was a connection between Asia, Africa and Europe. Some of the items on the ship had been traded for Portuguese merchandise that was needed in other parts of the world.
“This find has a lot of historical significance for us as country, but beyond that also for the region and entire world. We want to make sure that all the items are preserved to the best of our ability, mostly as a matter of historical importance” he assured the Namibian Sun.
Value
Mowa said millions of dollars have been invested into the project to date. He also emphasised that the Namibian government was committed to continue their investment in the project to protect and preserve the historical value of the numerous items.
Mowa also mentioned that many of the items could not be valued due to their historical importance, but said that the items could be estimated to be worth hundreds and thousands of US dollars, and billions of Namibian dollars.
The 15th century gold and silver Portuguese coins are valuable, with one gold coin estimated to be worth more than US$1 000. The copper ingots, which comprise of raw iron, are also valuable, if they were to be molten. Mowa said the ingots could produce up to three tons of raw copper.
The site where the wreck was found was 200 meters from the sea water, so the wall that was built from sand to keep the sea water out and allow the archaeologists to do their job, needed constant refilling to make sure that the site was workable.
Storage and Preservation
The moving of the items started in 2010, although the building which the items were initially stored was only temporary while the temperature controlled building was being prepared as a permanent storage space. The prospect of building a museum has been considered.
The items recovered from the site were moved to a temporary location on the mining grounds. The treasure has not yet been viewed by the public but there are plans to build a museum at Oranjemund to allow the general populace to share the historical delight of The Bom Jesus.
“As known, the shipwreck was found on land meant for mining and therefore the public has not been allowed to enter the premises and see the items that were salvaged from the shipwreck.
“The items have now been moved to their permanent home for the foreseeable future, and will stay in the building that Namdeb sponsored until they are moved into a museum where the public can come to view the items.”
In conclusion, Mowa said the government is very serious about establishing a museum at Oranjemund to house the shipwreck so that tourists and Namibians alike can marvel at the beauty of the find.
Keith Vries